Motorsport

Hafizh, Azlan struggling to get perfect set-up

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman had shifting issues that prevented him from improving his time in the Moto2 third practice session at the Qatar Grand Prix.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Moto2 riders Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman are still grappling for the perfect set-up ahead of the qualifying round at the Qatar Grand Prix.

At the conclusion of the third practice session, Hafizh was 28th fastest in 2:02.713, a slight improvement of 0.147 seconds from his time in the second session. Sandro Cortese of Germany set the fastest time at the Losail International Circuit in 2:00.579.

Azlan, meanwhile, had shifting issues that prevented him from improving his time from Thursday. He stopped the clock at 2:03.442, 1.036 seconds slower than the previous session.

Besides shifting problems, Azlan lamented the lack of grip at the third session that impeded his progress before qualifying.

“We tried various set-ups to improve the grip but it has been a difficult day trying to get the desired result. I’m still looking for the best suspension set-up that suits my style of riding,” said Azlan.

Meanwhile in the Moto3 championship, Zulfahmi Khairuddin is finally getting a grip of his Honda machine as he posted the best time out of the three sessions on Friday. He stopped the clock at 2:07.832 to be 19th fastest, 1.711 seconds behind fastest rider Romano Fenati of Italy.

“The bike is in good condition and to be honest, I’m quite happy with how it has improved since the pre-season tests. I hope we will get a good time for qualifying,” said Zulfahmi.

Moto3 debutant Amirul Hafiq Azmi, meanwhile, improved by almost a second from his second practice session. The 17-year-old posted a time of 2:08.768 to sit in 25th spot.